President-elect Barack Obama and his former Republican
opponent Senator John McCain say they hope they can work together in the months
ahead on a range of critical issues facing the country. The two former rivals
met in Chicago Monday where they issued a joint statement. VOA National
correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.
The two men
met in President-elect Obama's transition headquarters in Chicago. It was their
first meeting since the November 4 election.
Before the meeting began, Mr. Obama briefly spoke with
reporters.
"We are just going to have a
good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country,
and also to offer thanks to Senator McCain for the outstanding service he has
already rendered," said Mr. Obama.
Reporters asked Senator
McCain if he planned to help the incoming Obama administration. McCain responded
with one word - obviously.
Afterward, the two men issued
a joint statement that said Americans of all parties want their leaders to come
together to change the bad habits of Washington. The statement went on to say
that the two former rivals had a productive conversation about the need to
launch a new era of reform to restore trust in government. Mr. Obama and Senator
McCain also said they hope to work together on critical challenges like solving
the financial crisis and protecting the nation's security.
The meeting came after a long and bruising presidential
campaign in which the two rivals clashed over taxes, how to fix the ailing U.S.
economy and the war in Iraq.
Senator McCain did give a
gracious concession speech on election night, and he and Mr. Obama agreed to
meet after McCain placed a concession phone call to the
president-elect.
In an interview with the CBS
program 60 Minutes, Mr. Obama said once he takes office in January he
will do whatever it takes to stabilize the economy and create jobs.
Mr. Obama was also asked about his meeting last week with
Senator Hillary Clinton and reports that he might ask her to be his secretary of
state.
"She is somebody who I needed
advice and counsel from. She is one of the most thoughtful public officials that
we have. Beyond that, you are not getting anything out of me," he
said.
Political experts note that
the new president will face a wide range of challenges when he takes office on
January 20. In addition to the economic situation, Mr. Obama will face military
challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus demands that he follow through on his
domestic proposals on health care reform and energy policy.
William Galston of the Brookings Institution appeared on VOA's
Encounter program.
"By the time he assumes
office, I am quite sure that the central issue will continue to be
overwhelmingly the condition of the economy," he said.. "And so, I would expect
him to focus like a laser beam on the two aspects of this crisis, namely the
meltdown of financial institutions and the spillover into the real economy, the
threat of a recession that is both longer and deeper than anyone predicted just
a few months ago," said Galston.
The Obama transition team is
expected to announce additional White House staff appointments in the days
ahead, as well as the first appointments to the new cabinet.